Time to Take a Vacation
Hello All,
I will admit some bias in my title this week. I am currently in the middle of vacation (having written this newsletter in advance) and am hopefully enjoying it without work distractions! Admittedly, as a small business owner, it is difficult to completely detach from work. The line between work and our personal lives is much blurrier and our responsibilities are often weightier. If we don’t respond to a customer or a supplier or a bank on a timely basis, the very existence of our businesses could be at stake or at least the consequences could be significant. Some of us might be able to delegate, but it is often challenging to relinquish control.
Regardless of these challenges, I think that vacations are absolutely essential. We do need to detach completely, for at least a short while, to reset our mental processes as well as our mindset. It is exactly analogous to shutting down your computer, which actually solves the majority of computer glitches (if you would like a laugh, I suggest watching this clip from the very funny “IT Crowd”).
Small business and self employed owners do need some additional preparation to ensure that their business runs smoothly in their absence. It is often worth notifying your clients and other partners in advance, where possible. You also want to set up an out of office message that lets everyone know that you will be unavailable for a specified period. Ensure that you do everything you can before leaving - preparation, like many things in life, is the key to a stress free vacation.
In taking some time for yourself, that ideally involves some type of travel allowing you to be away from your current environment, you can figuratively push the reset button. This will help you be more productive and clears your mind of clutter. One of the other great upsides is that sitting on a beach sipping a mimosa (or however you like to spend your vacation) can allow you to step away, see your business at a high level and appreciate the big picture. :)
You can read the full newsletter here
